On behalf of the National Skating Federation of Kazakhstan and Ministry of culture & sport of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Organizing Committee has the honour and pleasure to invite you to participate in the ISU WORLD CUP SPEED SKATING 2016/17 which will be held at the Ice Palace Alau in Astana, Kazakhstan on December 2-4, 2016. The Competition will be held under the 2016 ISU General Regulations, Special Regulations and Technical Rules for ISU Speed Skating and the ISU Communication No. 2031. This World Cup Competition will serve as one of the qualifying events for quota places for the ISU European Speed Skating Championships 2017 and for the ISU World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships 2017. PROGRAM: Thursday, December 1, 2016 16:00 Team leaders Meeting, Ice Palace Alau 18:00 Opening draw, Ice Palace Alau Friday, December 2, 2016 TBA* Division B: 3000m Ladies (quartets) 500m (1st) Ladies 5000m Men (quartets) 19:00 Division A: 3000m Ladies 500m (1st) Ladies 5000m Men Saturday, December 3, 2016 : TBA* Division B: 500m (1st) Men 1000m Ladies 1000m Men 17:15 Division A : 500m (1st) Men 1000m Ladies 1000m Men Team Pursuit Ladies Team Pursuit Men Sunday, December 4, 2016 : TBA* Division B: 500m (2nd) Ladies 500m (2nd) Men 1500m Ladies (quartets) 1500m Men (quartets) Mass Start Ladies (Semi Finals) Mass Start Men (Semi Finals) 18:30 Division A: 500m (2nd) Ladies 500m (2nd) Men 1500m Ladies 1500m Men Mass Start Ladies Mass Start Men
* The actual starting times for the Division B races will be announced at the Team leaders meeting. For each distance, the races of Division A and the races of Division B are considered as two separate competitions with independent final classifications (list of results) for determining the awarding of World Cup points and prize money. TRACK A standard speed skating track of 400 meters to the lap laid out at Ice Palace Alau, an artificially frozen indoor skating rink in Astana. The radii of the inner and outer competition lanes are 26 and 30 meters, respectively. The width of the inside warming up lane is 5 meters. ENTRIES Entries for this competition will be restricted and must be made according to ISU Regulations and ISU Communication No. 2031, paragraph 3.4. Entries can only be made using the ISU Online Entry System for Speed Skating Events on www.isu.org, section Speed Skating or www.k4sport.ru/login.php Preliminary entries, giving the estimated number of Competitors & substitutes and the number of coaches and other team staff, as well as provisional names of the Competitors and team leader must be submitted at the latest by November 2, 2016. Final entries including the names of the Competitors and available substitutes, as well as the names of the team leader, coaches and other team staff for whom an accreditation is required must be submitted at the latest by 12:00 noon (local time) on Monday, November 28, 2016 (see also ISU Communication No. 2031, paragraph 3.4.4). Please note that fo r all persons entered by the ISU Members, the procedures regarding the Declaration fo r Competitors and Officials (all team officials requiring an accreditation) entering ISU Events (Rule 131) as outlined in ISU Communication No. 1628, need to be strictly observed. For more details please refer to Rules 115, 131 and ISU Communications No. 1628 and 1797 or any update of these Communications. In accordance with Rule 109 of the ISU Regulations and ISU Communication No. 2030, all Skaters who do not have the nationality of the ISU Member by which they have been entered or who, although having such nationality, have in the past represented another ISU Member, must produce an ISU Clearance Certificate. According to ISU Communication No. 2031, the entry quotas (maximum number of entries per distance, subject to the qualifying times criteria) for this competition are: LADIES ISU MEN 3000 500 1000 1500 Member 500 1000 1500 5000 2 2 2 1 AUT 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 BEL 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 2 BLR 1 1 2 2 4 4 4 4 CAN 5 5 4 4 5 5 4 4 CHN 4 4 2 2 2 3 2 2 CZE 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 DEN 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 FIN 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 FRA 1 1 2 2 2 3 4 4 GER 2 2 1 4 1 1 1 1 HUN 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 2 ITA 2 1 2 4 5 5 4 5 JPN 5 4 2 3 5* 5* 5* 5* KAZ* 5* 5* 5* 5* 4 4 3 2 KOR 4 4 4 2 1 1 1 1 LAT 1 1 2 1 5 5 5 5 NED 5 5 5 5 2 3 3 2 NOR 2 4 4 4 1 1 1 1 NZL 1 1 2 3 1 2 4 4 POL 4 3 4 3 4 5 5 5 RUS 5 5 5 5 1 1 1 1 SWE 1 1 2 1 4 4 4 1 USA 3 4 4 1 * as hosting IS U M em ber
ISU Speed Skating Members not listed in the table above, may enter a maximum of 1 Skater for each distance. However for the Mass start event, the maximum entry quota for each ISU Member is 2 Skaters per gender. All entered Skaters (incl. substitutes) must have achieved applicable qualifying times for the respective distances according to the criteria given in Communication No. 2031, paragraph 3.4.3. COMPETITION FORMAT AND SAFETY MEASURES FOR THE MASS START EVENTS Mass Start races will be skated according to Rule 253, paragraph 4 b) in the ISU Technical Rules for Speed Skating and ISU Communication No. 2031, paragraphs 4.3 and 5.5, with distances of 16 laps for both Ladies and Men. Further details, in particular on safety measures, are given in ISU Communication No. 2038. COMPETITION FORMAT FOR THE TEAM PURSUIT EVENTS Team Pursuit races will be skated according to Rule 261, paragraph 1 in the ISU Technical Rules for Speed Skating and ISU Communication No. 2031, paragraph 4.2, with national teams of 3 Skaters each, and with distances of 6 laps for Ladies and 8 laps for Men. GROUPING and DRAWING PROCEDURES The grouping and drawing of pairs will be made according to ISU Communication No. 2031, paragraph 5. PRIZES AND POINTS For each event World Cup points and prize money will be awarded according to ISU Communication No. 2031, paragraphs 6 and 8. ANTI-DOPING Anti-Doping tests will be carried out in accordance with the valid ISU Anti-Doping Rules and ISU Anti-Doping Procedures (ISU Communications Nos. 1871, 1872, 1922 and 1970 or any further update of these Communications). TRAINING TIMES The speed skating track will be open for training for entered Competitors from November 28, 2016. Trial starts will be organized on December 1, 2016. Only accredited Competitors, substitutes and team officials will be allowed to enter the ice-rink during the official training hours. LIABILITY In accordance with Rule 119 of the ISU General Regulations, the ISU, National Skating Federation of Kazakhstan and the Organizing Committee assume no responsibility for or liability with respect to bodily or personal injury or property loss or damage incurred in connection with the ISU World Cup Speed Skating. Each ISU Member is solely responsible for providing insurance coverage thereto. ACCOMMODATION Participating ISU Members will have to bear expenses for accommodation for all participating Skaters and team officials. The cost of a room and meal at the official hotel will be as follows (including all taxes): Single Room occupancy: 165 $ per person per night. Price including 3 meals Double Room occupancy: 110 $ per person per night. Price including 3 meals The payment should be made by bank transfer or by credit card in accordance with the enclosed booking form. Payment must be made not later than November 25, 2016. Accommodation requests can only be made using the ISU Online Entry System for Speed Skating Events. OFFICIAL HOTEL The Organizing Committee will make hotel reservations for the teams in the following hotel: RIXOS PRESIDENT ASTANA 7 D. Kunayev Street, Astana, 010000, Kazakhstan Phone: :+7 (747) 227 50 81 E-mail: astana.worldcup@mail.ru The Organizing Committee reserves the right to limit the number of hotel rooms available to each team at the official hotel(s).
TRANSPORTATION Astana International Airport (www.astanaairport.kz) connects with direct international flights to i.e. Moscow, Frankfurt and Vienna.Organizing Committee will provide transportation to and from the Astana International Airport from Monday, November 28 up to and including Monday, December 5, 2016. Shuttle bus service will be available between the official hotel and the ice rink from Tuesday, November 29, 2016. Information about the date and time of arrival and departure (incl. flight details) of the competitors and team officials must be submitted via the ISU Online Entry System for Speed Skating Events. ACCREDITATIONS The organizer is not obliged to provide services (accommodation, accredited entrance to the ice rink, transportation, etc.) for an excessive number of team officials or other accompanying persons from participating ISU Members. An additional fee of 50 Euros for extra accreditations must be paid to the Organizing Committee. VISA REQUIREMENTS A visitor visa may be required for participants and team officials. Please contact the National Skating Federation of Kazakhstan if you need an invitation letter for the visa. For the invitation letter please submit the following information: full name as stated in passport, date of birth, gender, citizenship, current country of residence, passport number, issue date, expiry date, status, city of visa application, date of arrival, date of departure, colour copy o f passport. Please submit all these information to the Organizing Committee as soon as possible, in order to have the necessary visas completed in due time. ORGANIZING COMMITTEE - MEDIA ACCREDITATION - INQUIRIES Inquiries should be addressed only to the Organizing Committee or at the addresses below. For Media accreditation, please contact the below address as soon as possible. Organizing Committee National Skating Federation 47, Kabynbay Batyra, Astana skatingkz@mail.ru skatingkaz@mail.ru Tel: +7 701 6666 874 Tel :+7 777 7817 873 Media accreditation Ice Palace Alau 47, KabanbayBatyr, Astana, nfk_pr@mail.ru Kirill Piartel Results and other information from the competitions will be posted on the following website(s): www.skating.kz